The Christmas Cliché
by GingerificFabulousTime
Summary: Sousuke and Makoto are screenplay writers who specialize in very different genres, but when asked to write together, they find out they are a great team. They have the difficult task of writing a Christmas movie script for a television channel, but all they can think of are clichés that have been used before. Strangely enough, these clichés seem to be happening to him and Makoto.
1. Chapter 1 - The Ultimatum

Sousuke's POV

I worked for one of the many TV channels who specialized in movies for TV. The channel I worked for was similar to the "Hallmark" channel in America or (formerly known as) ABC family. I mostly wrote sci-fi or action, but after the Sci-Fi channel moved some of their employees, so I ended up here. Only, this time of the year there were many jobs requesting to plan Christmas movies for following year. I think they had us write them around Christmas on the year before they were expected to air was because they wanted to film in winter weather to make it more believable. Plus the time it took to find actors and film. It was a long process.

Regardless, this was my first time writing such a screenplay and I didn't really know where to start. This was not my expertise and I didn't even know what people who watched these movies wanted. I wanted to discuss it with my boss so that I could possibly be moved to a different genre, but the chances of that were slim.

"Uh, boss," I said to my superior, "I'm sorry, but I really don't think I'm a good option for this screenplay. This isn't really the genre I'm used to writing in. I don't want to let the channel down."

My boss looked over at another writer standing next to him, then back at me. I had never seen the other writer before, so he must have been new. "I figured this would be a challenging request for you, but you are a great writer so I believe in you. How about this, Tachibana-kun here will help you," he motioned towards the writer standing next to him. "He is used to writing this kind of genre, but doesn't have the experience you do so it would be beneficial for both of you."

I bowed politely to Tachibana-kun, but spoke to my boss in a hushed tone on my way up, "Boss, I really don't think-"

"Sousuke-kun, if you can do this, I will let you write and direct your own TV movie to air next summer as a part of our new collection. If you can't work with others then you definitely won't be able to make it in the movie business."

I thought about this ultimatum for a moment and finally sighed. "Yes, sir."

Tachibana-kun smiled warmly at me, bowing slightly. "I'm Tachibana Makoto, please take care of me."

I couldn't be bitter towards him, it seemed his smile would just melt away that cold exterior. "I'll do my best. I'm Yamazaki Sousuke. You can just call me Sousuke. Since we will be working together for a while there's so need for formalities." I smiled.

I swear I saw Makoto blush. Or maybe my romance goggles were beginning to work and I could write this movie after all. "Well then, you can call me Makoto."

"Great. So, did you want to talk about some ideas over lunch?"

"Yeah that sounds great."

We ended up going to some ramen place where we could talk and while getting some work done. Although romantic movies were not my specialty, I would try my best in order to further my career and experience.

"So, Makoto," I cleared my throat, "what genre screenplays do you write now?"

Makoto slurped some noodles before answering. "So far I have been mainly assigned to romantic comedies. How about you?"

So that is why the boss paired us together. "I usually am writing action or sci-fi. I can see why the boss wanted us to work together. I may have experience with writing, but I'm not too good at ideas like that."

Makoto nodded, "it's good to explore different things, too. Who knows, maybe someday I'll help you write an action movie," he smiled. His smile was equivalent to a ray of actual sunshine and my heartbeat quickened weirdly.

"Yeah I suppose you're right," I said, eating some of my ramen. "I'm just not sure where to even start. Did you have any ideas right off the bat?"

Makoto thought for a moment, chewing. "Well, I would like to have an unconventional couple. Most of the times these romantic comedies have a cold, domineering man, and a woman who is engaged to him, but through some sort of events she ends up marrying another character who she falls in love with over the course of the film."

"Ok. So what would be considered unconventional?"

He tapped his chin with the clean end of his chopsticks. "I mean, having a person who doesn't want a relationship, but ends up in one is good. Or maybe a couple who don't seem like they would mesh together well, but they actually have a lot in common once they get to know each other."

I got out a small notepad from my back pocket and started writing these things down. "Ok. Anything else?"

"Well I'd have to get approval from the station…"

"For what?"

"I was thinking...maybe a gay couple?" He shrugged, trying to play it off, "but whatever. I mean, that would truly be unconventional in this genre of film."

I almost choked on my food, which led to a coughing fit. Makoto looked startled and I quickly drank some water to clear my throat. "Ah, sorry. I just wasn't expecting that."

"Exactly! Neither will the audience," he stated, his smile in full bloom.

I ignored the beating of my heart for a moment to say, "I'm not sure we can do that. I mean, I don't know what the channel would say. We would have to ask for approval and go from there, but the chances are slim."

Makoto looked a little disappointed. "Yeah I guess you're right."

His sad face hurt my chest a little. What was this sensation? "How about I email the head of the department tonight and ask? It doesn't hurt to ask." I said this reassuringly even though I was almost positive it would get turned down.

Makoto's smile returned a little, "Ok. Besides that, I had a lot of ideas about involving clichés."

"But don't we want to avoid clichés as much as possible? I mean, people will expect clichés in these types of movies, so isn't it best to break that pattern?" I asked. It seemed weird to include clichés. What was the point of watching something if you knew what was going to happen?

"That's just it, people love clichés." I raised an eyebrow and he quickly elaborated. "You see, as humans we love everything to be tied up in a bow. We love things that are in order and predictable. The minute a woman hates a man in a movie, you know they are going to end up together by his wit and charm and cliché situations that cause them to interact." I was beginning to see his point, but I still wasn't convinced. "Some great examples are catching someone coming out of the shower, falling into someone's arms-there are a lot to choose from."

"Ok, so even if we decided to go with this cliché idea stuff, we still need a plot to go around it." I added.

Makoto took a sip of his drink before speaking. "Exactly. You know what I was thinking? This situation we are in right now would be a great plot for a movie."

"How so?" I pondered.

"Because, imagine it, two writers are forced to come up with ideas for Christmas movies, but they hate clichés and want to avoid them; however, in the process of trying to write this movie, they themselves experience all these clichés with each other without even noticing it."

I nodded, writing the idea down. "That's actually pretty interesting. So I assume they fall in love with each other?" I asked.

His eyes locked with mine and I suddenly felt like I was being exposed for some reason. "Of course."

"Ok. So tonight I'll be sure to email the network about the 'unconventional couple' and send them a summary of the idea. Does that sound ok?" I asked, finally looking up at him again.

He smiled, beaming. "Yes. I'm so happy I get to work with someone who is as experienced as you. It takes a load off my mind."

My heart thumped. "Well I'm thankful that I am working with you. I never would have thought of an idea like this in a hundred years."

Makoto chuckled, causing me to look back up at him. "So I guess you aren't the romantic type, then?"

This caused me to chuckle, "Well I'm not against romance. I enjoy a cozy meal or a date, but I'm not very good at expressing my feelings sometimes. I care too much about how I appear to people."

"Ah, I see," he nodded. He slurped up the last of his ramen and set his chopsticks down. "Looks like I'll have to teach you some things," he laughed. I must have looked panicked because he added, "for the film, of course."

"Of course."

A/N: this first chapter is hella short, but I just wanted to get the basic intro out here! Like my other SouMako fic, I have the chapters outlined so hopefully writers block won't be a big issue! Anyway, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2 - Hot Coco and Gingerbread Men

Sousuke's POV

Makoto and I spent the next couple days writing and rewriting clichés that we could possibly use, and let's just say, I was thankful that he knew what he was talking about. Where I had technical skill, he had creative and romantic skill. In a totally platonic way of thinking, of course. Naturally, I didn't know about his romantic prowess in real life. My mind was beginning to have trouble separating fiction from reality and when Makoto talked about things that should happen in the movie, I imagined them happening with me and him. I tried to consciously separate the two realms, which I never had trouble with in action films because most of the scenarios were impossible to begin with, but this...this could have happened in real life. It was beginning to confuse my feelings. Although we had only worked together for a couple days, I was feeling this type of attraction to him and I wasn't sure if it was because of the writing, or if they were real feelings that I had.

Even though I wanted to try not to drive myself crazy with these thoughts, Makoto suggested that after work we go out on the town to see Christmas decorations and get in the spirit of things. And of course, this could stir up more ideas for the movie. I couldn't say no, it would be weird to reject the offer since it only had to do with work, after all. The last thing I wanted was to seem suspicious. Since I had a car, I drove us to an outdoor shopping center where we could look around and still seem like a normal couple...er, friends. Again, my thoughts were betraying me.

A chill was in the crisp air, causing us to see our breath. There wasn't snow on the ground, but it was frosty. We wore our wool coats and scarves, still dressed somewhat formally for work. At least I was somewhat warm with all these layers. As we walked around I absorbed in what was surrounding us. The brick pathways between the stores and the bustling people, some sitting on benches and obviously staring romantically at one another. Since winter was upon us, it became dark quite early and so the Christmas lights were on and strung from storefront to storefront. Garland and wreaths hung on doors to shops and holiday sale signs adorned windows. I was so involved in looking around that I didn't notice that Makoto was no longer at my side.

At first I panicked a little, but I realized he was an adult and could take care of himself. But there was still that lingering feeling of anxiety.

"Hey," Makoto bumped my arm with his elbow. Startled, I turned to see him.

"Oh my goodness, where did you run off to? I thought you had been kidnaped for a minute there," I chuckled to mask my own concern.

"No, nothing like that," he laughed. "I was looking for a café to get some hot chocolate and maybe a pastry. We can't get in the holiday season without those things." I stared at his face, contemplating what he said, but mostly just staring at the cute rosy color on his cheeks and the tip of his nose from the cold. I shook the thought out of my head and cleared my throat. Was this what the characters in our movie would feel like?

"Ah, yes, of course, that sounds great. Let's go," I gestured for him to lead the way, but instead he took my hand in his mittened one. I was sort of embarrassed because we were in public and this was a strange thing to see between two guys, but the mitten he was wearing was warming up my cold hand, so I didn't pull away. And it seemed that other people were so absorbed in shopping or the people they were with that they didn't notice, and if they did, they didn't care. My pounding heart calmed a little, my hand easing into his.

We strolled down the brick walkway, the scent of cookies and burning firewood thick in the air. I looked at all these shops, admiring the homey atmosphere. I felt like I walked into the set of a movie and I knew that part of the film we were writing had to be filmed here.

Makoto stopped in front of a small cafe and we stepped inside, but he still didn't let go of my hand. For some reason I didn't mind it. We were greeted with a blast of warm air when we walked into the establishment and the scent of cookies and pastries tantalized our nostrils.

"Ah, it smells so good," Makoto said, looking up at the menu that was posted above the counter. I couldn't help but look at him as he smiled so genuinely while reading. "I think I'm going to get a hot chocolate and a gingerbread man," he declared. He looked to me, his eyes asking what I wanted.

I realized I hadn't even looked up at the menu, so I just blurted out, "I'll have what you're having."

Makoto nodded and we stepped up to the counter, placing our orders. I suddenly remembered that I needed to pay for the drink and cookie and I pulled out enough to lay for both of us. For some reason it didn't seem right to have Makoto pay for me. I figured I got paid more than him because I had been in the field longer, so it was only right. I tried my best to justify my thoughts.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll get my own," he said happily, beginning to pull out his wallet.

I touched his arm, motioning for him to stop, "don't worry about it. How about you pay next time?" I realized that my statement implied that there was going to be a 'next time', which made heat bloom in my chest.

Makoto tried to hold back a grin, but couldn't. "Ok."

We quickly got our orders and sat at a cozy two-person table next to the window. The glass was foggy and the lights from outside shone through as soft, round bulbs. The only thing that would have made this more perfect was snow. I finally turned back to Makoto to see him biting off the leg of his gingerbread man and I almost laughed out loud. Gentle Makoto chomping off the leg of a gingerbread man seemed unusually violent, so I had to laugh. He realized I was watching and looked up at me embarrassingly. His cheeks got that rosy look again, only this time it wasn't because he was cold.

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked, taking a bite of my own cookie. "Personally, I like to eat the head first to put them out of their misery, but to each his own," I smiled teasingly at him.

Makoto chuckled. "Maybe I'm just sadistic," he said, his eyes turning dark yet flirty. The look made a weird tingle go through my body. He suddenly laughed obnoxiously, "oh goodness, you should have seen your face!"

It was my turn to blush. "Yeah, yeah, eat your cookie," I chuckled back at him.

As we sat there, I realized that I hadn't had a nice, relaxing evening like this in a long time. I was usually always working, never a moment to think of something other than my writing. Writing action movies entailed a lot more research whereas this type of film was more about experiences. Even though I always said I would never write a romantic comedy, I was beginning to think that I would enjoy it more.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate, sucking off some of the whipped cream beforehand to avoid getting it on myself. The hot beverage warmed my stomach and I began to warm up all over. "So," I licked my lips, making sure all remnants of chocolate and cream were gone, "is this what you do for a lot of your movies?" My question was partially a joke, but another part of my was sincerely curious.

Makoto took a drink of his own hot chocolate, but he missed licking some cream off his lip. I wanted to say something but he was in the middle of talking. "Well, with the Christmas ones it always helps to get in the Christmas spirit, but with the regular ones I usually just research the jobs that the characters might have and stuff like that." He must have realized I was staring at him because he asked, "Do I have something on my face?" He ran his tongue across his lower lip, searching for something, but I was only distracted by the pink muscle.

"Uh, you just have a bit of cream…" I reached over the table and, although not meaning to, I caressed his face while sliding my thumb over his cupid's bow. I suddenly realized that my action was probably not normal between two friends (especially between two male friends) so I quickly pulled my hand away, having removed the cream from his lip. I wasn't sure how I would recover the conversation, but thankfully I didn't have to.

"Oh, thank you," Makoto's fingers brushed across his lips, almost like he was feeling my touch. He looked down at the rest of his cookie and began to eat it, his cheeks flushed again. Ugh, why did I have to make things weird? It was obvious that Makoto was just doing this for the movie, so I shouldn't have been feeling this way.

"I, uh, emailed the office about the unconventional couple idea," I quickly tried to change the subject.

This caught his interest and he perked up. "Oh? And what did they say?"

I sighed, "well, they aren't going to approve the idea, but they like the storyline." I tried to end on a high note.

"I see." Makoto's face looked a little disappointed. I wondered how long he had tried to get a gay couple in a movie. And I briefly wondered why he was interested in having a gay couple in a movie.

I parted his hand across the table, "don't worry, the idea is what matters, not the couple." I smiled, trying to reassure him.

For some reason, my smile triggered his own. "You're right. It'll be a great movie no matter what."

"Exactly," I stated. I sighed, looking down at my devoured cookie and empty cup. "Well, it's almost 7 and we haven't actually started writing. Want to come over my place and we can start writing the first couple scenes?"

"That depends," he said. I raised a brow in confusion. "Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?"

The question made me laugh. "How could I not be?"

* * *

We made it to my apartment, which was not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Considering I had gotten a couple promotions over the years, I could afford a decent apartment. Makoto instantly commented on it, saying, "wow, this is very spacious for one person."

I set my keys on an end table next to the front door and took my coat and blazer off. I threw them over the back of the couch because I didn't really care about them that much, but I asked Makoto if he would prefer that I hang up his coats. He didn't seem to mind putting them on the back of the couch so his were tossed next to mine.

Now it was time for business. I loosened my tie and rolled up my sleeves, getting the little notebook that I carried around with me and tossing it on the dining table. Makoto watched me as I did all this, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Is something wrong?" I asked, sitting down at the table. Makoto sat across from me, shaking his head as if he just realized he was staring.

"Ah, no, I'm sorry," he stammered, "I zoned out a little."

"Oh, that's ok," I chuckled. "So," I declared, shifting the atmosphere to a more formal, work-related one, "I have some ideas written out in my notebook here and I'd like to know what you think of them. Also, if you have any ideas, please tell me." He nodded so I continued. "Ok, so for starting scene I was thinking about opening on the main female character, let's call her Jane for the sake of discussion. So Jane works at a TV channel station and is required to collaborate with another writer on a Christmas movie in order to get her promotion."

"Ok, sounds like a good start. What's her attitude on the whole thing?" He got out a small notebook of his own from his back pocket and began to make notes.

"I'm thinking she doesn't want to, seeing as it's not a genre she likes."

"Ok," he jotted down some more. "But what if we make it so that she doesn't like Christmas for a personal reason. Like, a cliché reason someone doesn't like Christmas in these types of movies is because a family member died around Christmas or in their family Christmas wasn't really celebrated because of financial reasons or something," Makoto suggested.

I wrote down his idea. Even though it was common in these types of movies, like Makoto said, it's what the audience was used to and would enjoy.

"Ok. So we will make her have some type of inner dialogue or conversation with her boss explaining why she doesn't want to do it. And then when she realizes she can't get out of it, she meets the fellow writer," I said to myself. I jotted the ideas down, creating a timeline of sorts.

I couldn't get over how similar this situation was to our own. Only, of course, we weren't going to be in a romantic relationship. I kept having to assure myself that so I wouldn't go crazy over-thinking my feelings.

"Sounds great. Now the male character-let's call him John-is the other writer," Makoto said. "I'm imagining his attitude as more playful and not as serious as Jane's."

I nodded, writing. "Ok. Now that we have everything lined out, let's start writing dialogue and camera cues."

Makoto cracked his knuckles and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ok, let's get to it."

* * *

A pot of coffee later, we had finished the first scene. It was a long process seeing as we had to list out all dialogue, actions for the actors, and camera positions. I yawned and rubbed my eyes that were tired from lack of sleep. Makoto mirrored my actions, running his hands through his olive hair. In my sleep-deprived state, I found myself checking out the muscles moving in his forearm. I rubbed my eyes again, trying to get control of myself. I was just thinking irrationally because I was tired, that was all.

I looked at my watch and read 1:27AM. It was a good thing that we didn't work in the morning or else this would be bad. "Ok, well, let's hit the hay. We are both falling asleep here." I got up and patted his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want me to stay the night? There's probably a train going that I could catch," Makoto said. He got up as well, taking off his tie. My eyes locked onto his neck, following his Adam's apple as he swallowed. I wasn't sure why I couldn't stop staring.

"Uh, it's totally fine if you stay. It's up to you, but you seem really tired so you're welcome to stay." I stretched my tired muscles as I spoke.

"Ok," he blushed, "I would love to stay, then."

"Great," I smiled at him, earning a smile in return. "I have some pjs you can wear, but I'm afraid I don't have a spare bed. I'll sleep on the couch and you can take the mattress." I led him to my room and we went inside. I rummaged through my drawers and found a pair of sweatpants and a short sleeve shirt he could wear.

As I handed him the clothes he quickly said, "thank you, but you should have your own bed. It would be rude of me to take it. After all, I'm an unexpected guest."

"Nonsense," I chuckled.

"Well, what if we share the bed?" He asked.

My heart fluttered in my chest, realizing that I had never had anyone in my bed before other than me. I didn't have any intimate relationships so I didn't really think about what would have happened if someone stayed over. "If that's ok with you, then I'm ok with it," I said, trying my best to hide my nervousness.

"Ok," he smiled, obviously relieved that he wouldn't be putting me out of my bed. "We can, uh, put pillows or blankets between us if it bothers you."

I felt like he was reading my expressions of nervousness even though I did my best to hide them. "If you want to, that's fine," I said. "Well, I'm going to get in my pyjamas and brush my teeth then we can go to bed when you're done."

He only nodded with a little smile on his face as I left the room.

The whole time I was getting changed and brushing my teeth I was going through scenarios in my head of what might happen. I shouldn't have been worried though because we were just going to sleep, nothing else. Why was I almost acting like I hoped something would happen?

I finished brushing my teeth and went to my room, Makoto already laying in bed on the side closest to the wall. I turned off the light, quietly making my way to the bed. I began to crawl under the covers, trying not to disturb Makoto.

I eventually settled, my mind already feeling foggy as I began to drift off to sleep. We were back to back, a couple inches from touching, but I still felt his presence and it calmed me for some reason. I wasn't sure what tomorrow held, and I wasn't sure what my feelings were or if I even had any, but I tried not to think ahead and enjoy the moment that was happening now.

With that, sleep's warm embrace enveloped me and I was at peace.

* * *

 **A/N: hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to have Sousuke slowly get more aware of his feelings towards Makoto so I hope I did that well. Thanks to everyone who read, commented, followed, and favorited!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Decorating

Sousuke's POV

I was so warm and comfortable that I wanted to sleep more, but the wind whistling against the window prevented me from doing so. My groggy head started to clear and I almost forgot that Makoto had stayed the night. His back was against my chest and my body was curled around his. No wonder I was so warm and cozy. Having another person to share body heat was certainly nice. I suddenly realized the situation we were in and I wanted to get up before Makoto realized. I mean, it wasn't like either of us meant to "spoon", but it happened. It wasn't a big deal, but my heart was beginning to pound a little harder. I had never woken up beside someone before and part of me really liked it. I smiled to myself and heard Makoto yawn.

I quickly scooted away from him and sat up, so not to scare him away with our interesting position. The bed shifted and Makoto sat up, running his fingers through his hair. His hair poked out in all directions and I had to admit that his bedhead looked quite...cute on him. I almost chuckled to myself.

"That was the best night's sleep I've had in awhile," he said and he stretched. I turned to get up and to stop myself from staring at his well-toned arms. What in the hell was wrong with me? It must have been because I was stressed about work. I mean, I needed to like this guy in a way in order to even be able to write with him, so obviously that was why I was getting to know him.

"Ah, me too. I hope I didn't steal too much space. It's a small mattress," I got up and did my own stretching. There was a silent pause and I turned to make sure Makoto hadn't fallen back to sleep or anything, but it turned out that he was just staring at me, looking rather zoned out. He must have still been kind of tired.

"Oh, uh, no, you were totally fine," he got off the bed and stood next to me with a smile. "I'm a blanket hog, but it looks like you were able to keep some of them," he chuckled.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Well, I'm gonna go brush my teeth. I have an extra toothbrush-never opened and still in it's packaging," I reassured him, "so you are welcome to open it if you want."

"Haha, is there any particular reason you have an extra toothbrush?" Makoto walked behind he into the bathroom.

I shrugged, "I just like to be prepared. Apparently when the bristles turn white rather than the normal blue they are now, it means it's time to get a new toothbrush. If I didn't have an extra one on hand I'd never remember to change it out."

Makoto nodded, a little grin on his face. I went through the drawer on the side of the bathroom counter and found the toothbrush for him to use. He took it and as he opened it I put toothpaste on mine.

Brushing our teeth took no time at all and we were quickly on our way to the kitchen. "So, what do you want for breakfast?" I asked.

Makoto shrugged, "whatever you want. I'm grateful that you let me stay the night."

"Don't mention it," I said as I rummaged through the fridge. "How about eggs?"

"Sounds good," he said.

As I made breakfast, Makoto hopped on my laptop and looked over the scene we wrote last night. "Ok, so this all looks good. I'm gonna email to the boss, is that ok? Or do you want to look it over first?"

"Nah, I trust your judgement. Go ahead and send it." That was a sentence that rarely left my mouth. I usually always wanted to be the one to have the final say on scripts and scenes, but it seemed that Makoto was bringing out a softer side of me. I mean, he obviously was an expert in his genre so it shouldn't have been weird for me to let him submit it.

"Ok. Well," Makoto gently shut my laptop and walked into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter next to me as I cooked. "We are all set for today work-wise. Now, I need to ask you a question."

My heart sped up a little, nervous for what he was about to say even though it was stupid for me to be nervous. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"Why don't you have your Christmas decorations up? It's going to be Christmas soon and there's no tree or ornaments or cookies."

I could have let out a sigh of relief, but instead I opted for a chuckle, "haha, oh, well I haven't had the time." I grabbed two plates and gave us both two sunny-side up eggs. I handed Makoto his plate and a fork. "But now that we have started writing together, I've had a lot more time to relax. It's really great. I never realized how much time I spent thinking of ideas by myself that weren't even any good." I popped two pieces of bread in the toaster and set my plate down on the table. Makoto followed me and sat across from me, a smile on his face.

"I'm sure you had great ideas," he said, "thank you for breakfast, by the way."

When the toast was done I buttered it and brought it over, "no problem. It's nice to have someone over. I'm usually alone with my ideas most of the time and that can drive a man crazy."

Makoto started to eat his eggs and nodded, swallowing before answering, "I feel the same way. It can be stifling living in your own head all the time." He took a bite of his toast and I started eating as well.

There was a comfortable silence as we ate; every once and awhile we had a casual conversation about weather, but nothing too deep to start off the morning. I took our plates when we were finished and rinsed them off in the sink before walking back over to him.

"So, you know we need to get your apartment decorated, right?" Makoto said, giving me a cheeky smile.

I laughed a little, "well, all my decorations are in storage. I haven't put them up in...gosh, it's been years."

"We have to change that. Come on! Maybe I can borrow some clothes and we can go get the decorations? It'll be fun!" He had a twinkle in his eyes that I couldn't say no to. There was something about him that made my chest feel all warm and my stomach feel tingly. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I decided it was best not to overthink it.

I couldn't help but smile, "ok, let's go."

Makoto clapped his hands together, looking incredibly excited. "I'm gonna make you love Christmas!"

What he didn't know was that he already was.

* * *

Getting the decorations proved to be more difficult than anticipated as I had a pretty small car. We had to wedge boxes in there like a game of Tetris and the oblong box with the tree was even more awkward to fit, but somehow we managed. I wasn't going to lie, I usually thought of decorating as pointless because in two months I would just be taking decorations down again, but Makoto made it worthwhile. Just to see how happy it made him was enough to convince me.

He helped me carry the boxes to the elevator, and I was thankful for that because they were fairly heavy. It took us two trips to bring up all the decorations, but when it was time to actually start decorating it felt worth it. Makoto unboxed some ornaments as I set up my fake tree. The lights were automatic and already on the tree, so thankfully I didn't have to do that. Once the tree was was fully built, we both began decorating. I didn't have a lot of fancy ornaments, but I had ones from my childhood-when we actually used to put up decorations. Makoto couldn't wipe the smile off his face and it was contagious. There was something about that warm smile that made my chest ache. I could have stared at him all day-no matter how creepy that probably sounded.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you put up decorations for a long time?" Makoto asked, walking over to the tree with an ornament in his hand.

"Well, it's kind of a long story so I'll shorten it up, but when I was little both of my parents were doctors at the hospital in the city and we lived in a more country type of area. They worked, God, they worked so much. Sometimes 70 hours a week each. Part of me understood that they didn't have time for anything, let alone holidays or decorating." I walked over to the tree with my own ornament in my hand and tried to find a good branch to hang it on. "So as I got older, we started putting out less and less decorations and eventually we stopped celebrating Christmas all together. It was heartbreaking to me, and weirdly enough I think it caused me to resent the Christmas season a little. Maybe that's why I was apprehensive to write a Christmas romance movie in the first place."

Makoto nodded, absorbing all of the information I was giving him. "I'm sorry that happened. I can't imagine not having Christmas in my life. It was the only time of the year that we could focus on each other as a family and just enjoy the happiness that comes along with the season." After putting another ornament on the tree, he turned to me. "Sousuke," he licked his lips, seemingly nervous. "You are too sweet a person not to write romance movies. It comes naturally to you, it seems." I could feel my eyes widen in surprise and he continued, "a-and I really enjoy working with you. I know you didn't want to write with me at first, and I totally understand that, but I'm glad that you did. And I'm also glad that we can spend time together as friends as well as colleagues." A soft pink dusted his cheeks and he quickly focused on putting up another ornament.

My heart quickened for some odd reason, my stomach feel fuzzy again. "I'm glad that we are writing together too. And thank you for your nice words. If I'm being honest, I…" I swallowed, gaining some more confidence, "I am really happy that we can spend time together too." I couldn't help the blush that formed on my cheeks as well.

As we hung the rest of the decorations, I noticed we only had one left. I motioned for Makoto to take it and he did. He went to the tree and as he reached out to put it on a branch my hand went towards an ornament nearby, trying to prevent the two of them from touching. Rather than move the other ornament, my hand brushed his. My heart sped up and little butterflies began to fly around in my stomach. His hand was warm and his skin was soft. For some reason I wanted to keep my hand against his. I had the urge to hold his hand, oddly enough. I hurriedly drew my hand away and Makoto looked at me and smiled. "Sorry," he said softly, quickly focusing more on the tree branch than making embarrassing eye contact with me. Was this moment another cliché? It seemed so.

We both took a step back to admire our hard work and, in all honesty, the tree was beautiful. The colorful twinkling lights along with the shining and sparkly ornaments were perfect. I felt that comfortable warm feeling inside my stomach. It was the type of feeling I got when drinking that hot cocoa Makoto and I had together before. It was comforting.

"It looks beautiful," I said in awe.

Makoto smiled, "well there is something missing."

I raised a curious eyebrow. "What?"

"A star," he walked back to the box of ornaments and lo-and-behold there was a star at the very bottom. He lifted it up proudly with a smile. "You want to put it on?" He asked, holding out the star to me.

"O-oh, no, I wouldn't know how. How about you do it?" I suggested. I grabbed a small stepping stool and placed it next to the tree. Makoto nodded and smiled as he made his way over to the stepping stool. I could get my eyes off of him. He looked so cute and innocent. As he reached up to place the star at the top of the tree, his shirt rode up and I couldn't help but look at the dips of his v-lines that snuck under the waistband of his pants. Even though I had the very same lines and muscle definition on my own body, I felt some kind of feeling sizzle my stomach. My cheeks reddened and I tried to focus on something else which only resulted in me looking at his ass. I never realized that a guy could have such a good ass, but Makoto really did. It was round and at the same time obviously muscular and toned. I would have punched myself if I could because I shouldn't have been thinking this way. What was wrong with me? Was I going crazy? Had I been without a romantic partner in so long that I was becoming attracted to anyone who was nice to me?

I couldn't explain it, but I knew I would need some time to myself in order to figure it out. If only the idea of being alone was appealing. Before I met Makoto, I spent most of my time alone in my house, but now I didn't want to be alone. I wanted...I wanted to be with him more than anyone else.

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 **A/N: here's another "getting closer" chapter! I hope you thought it was cute and fluffy! Thank you to everyone who reads, follows** **, favorites, and comments!**


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